LOOKBACK
FROM TRIPODS TO DRONES
How 150 years of photographic innovation, from glass plates and mugshots to drones and 3D scans, transformed identification, reconstruction and courtroom evidence across Britain
The history of police crime photography in the United Kingdom is closely tied to the wider development of investigative practice. It reflects a long shift from instinct and experience to structured, evidence driven policing. When photography first entered the police station in the late nineteenth century, it was regarded with curiosity rather than confidence. Detectives were accustomed to relying on their notebooks, their memory, and their ability to read a scene. Yet by the 1870s and 1880s, mugshots were becoming routine, and forces were beginning to recognise that a photographic record could do what no written description could achieve. It fixed a suspect’s appearance in time, removed ambiguity, and supported identification
24 | POLICE | FEBRUARY | 2026
across force boundaries. Crime scene photography followed soon after, although it developed more slowly. The earliest surviving examples from the 1890s show scenes captured with heavy, fragile equipment in cramped
the first time, investigators attempted to preserve a major scene visually, rather than relying solely on sketches or recollections. By the interwar years, crime scene
“By the interwar years, crime scene photography had become a recognised specialism. Forces developed internal guidance on how to photograph a crime scene.”
or poorly lit rooms. One of the first major uses of photography as courtroom evidence came during the Whitechapel murders of 1888, when police photographed the crime scenes linked to Jack the Ripper. The images were limited, but they represented a turning point. For
photography had become a recognised specialism. Forces developed internal guidance on how to photograph a scene methodically, including establishing shots, mid-range images, close ups with scales, and clear documentation of points of entry, exit, and disturbance. A landmark case that
demonstrated the value of systematic photography was the 1924 murder of Emily Kaye at the Crumbles bungalow near Eastbourne. The photographs taken under the direction of Sir Bernard Spilsbury helped the court understand the layout of the scene, the positioning
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